[ad. L. ēmissārium an outlet, f. ēmiss- (see prec.) + -ārium: see -ARY1.] An outlet, channel, duct: chiefly of a lake or reservoir. Also fig. Obs. exc. in Rom. Antiq.
1601. Holland, Pliny, II. 530. Without any emissaries, tunnels, or holes.
1727. Swift, To a very young Lady, Wks. 1755, II. II. 44. To be the common emissary of scandal.
1786. Phil. Trans., LXXVI. 368. The famous Emissary of the Emperor Claudius remains nearly entire.
1859. J. C. Hobhouse (Ld. Broughton), Italy, II. xvii. 121. The great emissaries of the Alban lake.
† b. Phys. A canal by which any fluid passes out. Obs.
1657. Tomlinson, Renou’s Disp., 166. The emissaryes of the palate from the brain.
1732. Arbuthnot, Rules of Diet, 355. The Obstruction of the Emissaries of the Saliva.
